>> thanks seth. >>> this morning american contractor alan gross is asking president obama to help win his release from cuba. he was distributing communications equipment under a u.s. government contract when he was arrested four years ago today. rhodes is serving a 15-year sentence for crimes against cuba. in a letter to the president, he write, "i still want to believe my government values my life and my service. i refuse to accept that my country would believe me behind." >>> a new report out this morning finds american high school students are falling further behind their peers in other countries. the u.s. is now ranked 31st in math 24th in science, and 21st in reading. the assessment is based on a worldwide test taken last year by 6,000 american 15-year-olds. the test results show no improvement by u.s. students over the past decade. >>> time to show you some of this morning's headlines. "the wall street journal" says the number of banks in the united states are at their lowest level since the great depression. federally insured banks shrank to about 6900 in the third quarter, fro